Neuroinflammation and changes in immunity are key features of brain aging and neurodegeneration. Modulation of neuroinflammation is thought to be an attractive therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative and neuroimmune diseases, but very few treatments exist.
Ganciclovir (GCV) and other nucleoside analogs of 2′-deoxyguanosine have been used previously as anti-viral drugs for treatment of herpes viral infections (Faulds et al. (1990) Drugs 39:597-638). Recently, GCV been shown to ameliorate the disease course and pathology of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (Ding et al. (2014) J Exp Med 211:189-198).
There remains a need for better methods of treating inflammation, particularly neuroinflammation associated with neurodegenerative conditions.